Mail-box.



PATENTED APR. 14, 1503.

A. L. HENRY.

MAIL BOX. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES ANDREW L. HENRY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

MAIL-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 725,080, dated April 14, 1903.

Application filed March 28,1902. Serial No. 100,495. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.

Be it'known that 1, ANDREW L. HENRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Boxes, of which the following is aspecification.

Mail-boxes, especially of that kind adapted for use in connection'with rural free-delivery routes, should be storm-proof, of large capacity, and of such construction that mail may be easily put in or withdrawn from the same.

The object of my invention is, therefore, to produce a box the capacity of which need not be limited by reason of. the construction of its cover, in which the cover is of such character as to form a storm-proof connection for the interior of the box andsuch that it shall be practically balanced about its point of support, so that it will remain in either open or closed position without being held by the carrier, and of such form that it will not freeze up.

A further object of my invention is to provide a supplemental cover or locking-plate inside of the main cover of such form that it may be opened simultaneously with the external cover and also such as to forma supplemental mailreceiving pocket separate from the main portion of the interior of the box, yet inside of the cover.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view with the cover closed. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the cover open. Fig. 3 is a transverse section with the cover closed. Fig. 4 is a similar section with the cover open and the supplemental cover-plate closed. Fig. 5 is a similar View with the cover and supplemental coverplate open; Fig. 6, an enlarged longitudinal sectional detail; Fig. 7, a detail of the lock for the supplemental lid.

In the drawings, 10 indicates a box or receptacle, which may assume any desired form and for economy will be formed of sheet metal. In the form shown in the drawings box 10 is so formed that the front 11 is considerablyshorter than the back 12, and the metal of the back. at its upper edge is turned down, as at 13, so as to form a brace for the box connecting .the ends, which ends in the form shown are trapezoidal in form.

The principal feature of my invention consists in the provision of a cover for the box 10, which cover is pivoted upon pivots 14, located between the medial line of the box and the back, so that the distance between the axis and the back of the box shall be less than the distance to the front of the box. The cover consists of a pair of ends 15 connected by a plate 16, preferably bent through a large portion of its middle, so as to be concentric with the pivots 14, the said plate at its rear end being provided with a downturned lip 17, which projects below and just outside of the upper rear edge of the back 12. Lip 17 is in turn doubled upon itself at its end so as to form a round edge 18, which lies away from the back 12 and forms an edge from which drippage may take place free from the back. At its forward edge plate 16 is turned down at 19 until it passes the upper edge of the front 11 of the box and then is turned outward at 20 to form a water-shed and to also form a lip by which the cover may be operated.

Pivoted upon pivots 14 inside of the box is the supplemental cover-plate 21, the forward edge 22 of which passes outward over the upper edge of the front 11 of box 10 and lies immediately beneath portion 20 of the cover, the lip 22 being,however, slightly shorter than lip 20 for a purpose which will appear. That portion of the supplemental cover between pivots 14 and the front of the box is formed into a pocket 23, which will serve for the reception of newspapers and the like for which there may not be room in the box 10, and the rear edge 24 of plate 21 extends to the back 12. The supplemental plate 21 carries upon its under side, adjacent its forward edge, a suitable lock 25, which is adapted to engage a suitable strike 26, formed on the inner side of the front plate 11. The ends of the box are provided with projecting flanges28 upon all edges except the bottom edge, and to these flanges are secured the front and back sides. The end plates 15 of the cover lie immedi ately adjacent the ends of the flanges 28, and the lower edge of each end plate therefore forms a shear with the edge of the adjacent flange 28, so that if any sleet or ice forms upon the edge of the flange the bottom edge of the end of the cover will shear it OE, and thus prevent any obstruction to the easy operation of the cover. The cover may carry a suitable signal-flag 30, the construction of which forms no part of my present invention, and in the interior of the box 10 I mount a removable receptacle 31.

In operation the owner of the box will drop the supplemental plate, butwill not urge it completely to its seat, thus leaving it unlocked, unless he deposits mail therein to be collected by the carrier. The carrier will then grasp lips 22 and simultaneously, so as to move both the cover and the supplemental plate simultaneously to the position shown in Fig. 5, the pivotal support of the cover allowing the same to be thrown back so as to form a wide mouth to the box. After depositing such mail as he may desire in box 10 the carrier then forces the supplemental cover-plate 21 toits seat, so that look looks the same in position". In case there is second class matter or other bulky mail for which there may not be room in the receptacle 10 it is placed in pocket 23 and the cover thrown downinthepositionshowninFig.3. Withthe cover in this position the lip 17 engages closely the back 12 of the box, and lip 20 lies upon lip 22, which in turn lies upon and overlies the upper edge of the front'll, while the ends 15 of the cover extend down over the ends of the box. The cover therefore forms a stormproof protection for the interior of the box, and should there be any gathering of sleet between lip 17 and back 12 it cannot be sufficient to prevent the easy opening of the cover, because of the leverage which may be exerted. The curved portion of the plate 16 preferably has a radius considerably greater than the distance between pivots 14 and the upper corner of the back 12 of the box, 'so that in case of the denting of the cover such dents will not prevent the proper operation thereof.

The form of cover shown is probably the most practical and preferable; but it will be readily understood that said form may be changed without departing from my invention so long as the pivotal axis of the cover lies between the medial line of the box and its back or side, and the cover is provided with a portion which forms a closure between the cover and the back of the box.

I claim as my invention- 1. A mail-box consisting ofa receptacle having an open top and a non-cylindrical back side higher than the front side, and a convex cover arranged to cover the open top and pivoted upon an intermediate axis extending through the receptacle between the medial line and the back of'the receptacle and substantially parallel therewith.

2. A mail-box consisting of a receptacle having an open top and a back side higher than the front side,a pivoted cover having a downturned lip arranged to fall below the upper edge of the back side, and a pivoted support for the cover arranged between the medial line and the back side of the box and substantially parallel therewith, the pivotal axis extending through the receptacle.

3. In a mail-box, the combination with a receptacle having an open top, of a cover therefor having a lip at its forward edge projecting beyond the receptacle, and a supplemental cover-plate arranged to cover the receptacle inside the cover and having at its forward edge a lip also projecting beyond the receptacle, adjacent the lip of the cover, whereby the cover and supplemental coverplate may be simultaneously manipulated.

4:. In a mail-box, the combination with a receptacle having an open top, of a cover therefor having a lip at its forward edge projecting beyond the receptacle, and a supple mental plate arranged to cover the receptacle inside the cover and having at its forward edge a lip also projecting beyond the receptacle, adjacent the lip of the cover, both the cover and the supplemental cover-plate being pivotally connected to the receptacle upon an axis lying between the vertical medial line of the receptacle and the back thereof, substantially as described.

5. In a mail-box, the combination with a receptacle having an open top, of a cover therefor having a lipat its forward edge pro jecting beyond the receptacle,a supplemental plate arranged to cover the receptacle inside the cover and having at its forward edge a lip also projecting beyond the receptacle, whereby the cover and supplemental plate may be simultaneously manipulated, and a lock carried by the supplemental cover-plate and adapted to engage a portion of the receptacle.

6. In a mailbox, the combination with a receptacle having an open side, of a cover therefor consisting of the ends 15, and the plate 16, said plate having at its rear edge a downturn-ed lip 17 and at its forward edge a downturned portion 19 and a lip 20, substantially as described, and a pivotal connection between the end plates and the receptacle upon a line between the medial line of the receptacle and that side adjacent the lip 17.

7. In a mail-box, the combination with a receptacle having a flange 28 projecting from the end thereof, of a cover for said receptacle consisting inpart of an end plate 15 pivotally connected to the receptacle adjacent the flange 28 on an axis parallel therewith in position to form a shear therewith on the side toward which the cover is moved in opening whereby accumulations of snow and ice will not prevent the opening of the cover, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. A mail-box consisting of a receptacle having an open top, a cover for said top having a lip extending below the top edge of the back side of said receptacle to the rear thereof, and In witness whereof I have hereunto set my a pivotal support for said cover arranged be hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this tween the medial line and the back side of 18th day of March, A. D. 1902.

the receptacle substantially parallel with the ANDREW L. HENRY. [L. S.] 5 back side and below the lower edge of said \Vitnesses:

lip, the pivotal axis extending through the ARTHUR M. HOOD,

receptacle. JAMES NELLER. 

